Vienna’s Planning Commission is set to hold a public hearing this week on Sunrise Senior Living’s new proposed spot in the town.
After the Vienna Town Council killed plans for a Sunrise facility farther up Maple Avenue, Sunrise now wants to move to an approved mixed-use development at 380 Maple Avenue.
The spot is currently the site of a contentious, approved redevelopment, which would add a four-floor building with ground-floor retail and multi-family condominium units.
The hearing is set to start at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 11) at Town Hall (127 Center Street).
Plans for a new speed hump aim to slow down drivers near a high school and senior center in Pimmit Hills.
Last Tuesday (Dec. 3), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors backed adding a speed hump to Griffith Road between Magarity Road and Lisle Ave.
The speed hump will be located in front of the building (7510 Lisle Avenue) that houses the Pimmit Hills Senior Center, the Pimmit Hills Alternative High School and the Pimmit Alternative Learning Center.
The county board voted to urge the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) to install the speed hump as soon as possible after residents in the area called for measures to reduce the speed of traffic on the road, according to county documents.
Back in October, FCDOT received support from the nearby community for the traffic calming plan for the road after FCDOT had an engineering study done on the road, the county said.
Now, the Virginia Department of Transportation will review the plan, which is a part of FCDOT’s Residential Traffic Administration Program.
The new speed hump is expected to cost $8,000, according to county documents.
Map via Google Maps
Former Manager of Tysons Corner Center Dies — “The mall’s former general manager worked there for only seven years in two different stints. But during the first of those, he oversaw an expansion and renovation that made Tysons Corner Center one of the largest and most successful malls in the country. Charles R. Cope, a native of Indianapolis, died Nov. 20 from complications related to a liver transplant. He was 71.” [Washington Business Journal]
New Head of McLean Elementary School — “Cherith Pierson, who currently serves as assistant principal at Cooper Middle, has been selected as the new principal of Churchill Road Elementary, effective January 2, 2020.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Vienna Fire Chief Celebrated — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recognized our very own Chief John Morrison for being named the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ 2019 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year. [Vienna Volunteer Fire Department/Twitter]
History Behind Pleasant Grove Church — “For more than seven decades, the little white church on Lewinsville Road was a hub for the African-American community, hosting Sunday services, picnics, weddings–and funerals, like the one held for Joan Lewis’s father in 1949.” [Arlington Magazine]
Part of Tysons Highway May Become Park — The inside of the Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) and Leesburg Pike (Route 7) interchange could become a park. [Greater Greater Washington]
Future of Freddie Mac’s Tysons Space — “A joint-venture between Northridge Capital and KAMCO Investment Co. has acquired 1550 Westbranch Drive, a 151,949-square-foot office building in Tysons, Va., for $80.5 million… Freddie Mac signed a full-building lease in May, and is in the process of building out the space and moving in.” [Commercial Observer]
Layoffs Coming to Closing Clothing Store — “Lord & Taylor stores at Tysons Corner Center and Dulles Town Center will lay off 117 and 79 employees, respectively, according to Work Adjustment and Retraining Notifications filed with the Virginia Employment Commission.” [Washington Business Journal]
New Local Charging Station for Electric Cars — EVgo recently opened a new charging facility in Tysons. [NVRC/Twitter]
Polling Center Moved — “On Dec. 3, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved moving the polling place at the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church to the Lewinsville Senior Center at 1613 Great Falls Street, McLean.” [Fairfax County]
Dozens of students and adults joined a climate strike today in the Town of Vienna as part of an international effort.
Protesters, elected officials, local groups — including 350 Fairfax and Mothers Out Front Fairfax — and community members gathered outside at the Vienna Town Green (144 E. Maple Avenue) from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
“WAKE THE HELL UP,” said one sign with a drawing of the earth on fire.
“‘Once we begin to act, hope is everywhere’ – Greta Thunberg,” another sign said with the message of the Swedish environmental activist who has sparked climate change activism among young adults and kids.
The strike in Vienna was a part of a larger effort organized by the Sunrise Movement, along with the help of youth coalition groups, ahead of the UN’s annual climate conference.
The student strike in Vienna is being organized by Katie M., a high school climate activist.
Katie told Tysons Reporter that she grew up in a family of climate activists. After becoming interested in climate change as a sophomore, she started planning strikes and events in D.C.
She said she decided to organize the strike in Vienna, because “D.C. already has a strong climate movement.”
Katie said that she was “really excited about the turnout” today and is hoping to plan another strike for Earth Day.
At the strike, protesters urged people to write a postcard to the Fairfax County School Board. The students and adult allies are pushing for a Green New Deal for FCPS that would switch all of the schools to net-zero carbon emissions by installing solar panels and energy-efficient windows. The plan would also continue the push for electric school buses in the county.
“I just want to make sure [my kids] have a liveable planet to live in,” Tiziana Bottino, a community organizer for Mothers Out Front, told Tysons Reporter about why she joined the strike.
While Bottino said that she’s impressed by the recent youth activism, she said the students shouldn’t have to be the ones calling for climate action.
“They should be worried prom,” Bottino said.
A fire that broke out in a commercial building in the Town of Vienna earlier this week resulted in thousands of dollars of damage.
Firefighters responded to the fire around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 4) in the 500 block of Mill Street NE, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.
More from the fire department:
Units arrived on scene of a one-story commercial building and reported fire visible from within the structure. Crews quickly extinguished the fire. No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported.
An occupant of the business next door could smell smoke. The occupant saw smoke coming from the roll-up bay door at the front of the business and called 9-1-1. No occupants were present in the business when the fire occurred. No smoke alarms were present.
Fire investigators determined that the fire started by accident inside the front door of the retail sales area after “an electrical event in a hot/cold water cooler.”
The fire did not displace anyone and caused damages worth approximately $11,000, according to the fire department.
Images via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue
An employee at Giant (359 Maple Avenue) said a child concealed four bags of candy and left without paying for them, according to Vienna police.
The incident happened around 6 p.m. on Monday (Dec. 2).
“The employee notified the police after the juvenile’s parents refused to come to the store to pick up their child,” according to the police report. “An officer responded, counseled the juvenile and arranged for the mother to respond to the store and pick up the juvenile.”
Police said that the store management did not want to pursue charges.
Photo via Facebook
Tysons Reporter is back with its new monthly crime map showing where the incidents occurred in Fairfax County Police Department’s McLean District Station.
We went ahead and pulled together all of the incidents noted for the McLean District Station in FCPD crime recaps from Nov. 1-30, weeded out the ones that are not in the Tysons Reporter coverage area and plotted them in the interactive map above.
The McLean District Station covers crime in Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons and Great Falls.
The map only includes information from FCPD and does not include reports to the police departments in the Town of Vienna or the City of Falls Church.
Use the icon in the top left corner of the map to toggle between the various types of crimes displayed.
Fairfax County’s weekday police recaps are not comprehensive lists of every incident and the addresses are approximate. FCPD also notes that information in the recaps “is generally based on initial reports made to the police department.”
Anyone with information about any of these crimes should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).
City officials and community members in Falls Church are gearing up to celebrate the recent renovation of one park and the start of work on another one this Saturday (Dec. 7).
The events kick off with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. at the new Broad Street entrance (601 W. Broad Street) for the Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park, according to a press release from the city.
The park recently underwent renovation and restoration efforts, which included adding a new arched park sign, benches, pathway, pedestrian bridge and stream daylighting.
After the ribbon cutting, a groundbreaking ceremony will take place at around noon for the improvement project at Big Chimneys Park (210 Gibson Street).
The work is set to start this month and will include installing new play equipment, improving the drainage at the south end of the park and adding an accessible trail from the Winter Hill neighborhood, according to the press release.
Mayor David Tarter is expected to speak at both events, along with Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Chair Charley O’Hara and other community leaders.
Attendees who would like to get a ride between the parks can use the bus that will be available after the ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies, according to the press release.
Image and map via Google Maps
Yesterday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) released several preliminary concepts for alternative routes affecting Metro riders in Northern Virginia.
For people in the Tysons area, two concepts would create new Silver Line connections by I-66 — one north and another south of the highway.
The concepts stemmed from a study to find solutions for bottlenecking of the Silver, Orange and Blue lines at the Rosslyn Metro station, according to WMATA.
“This bottleneck limits the number of trains that can serve customers during rush hour,” according to WMATA. “In addition, running three lines on one track requires precision, and even a minor problem with a single train can impact the entire rush hour for all three lines.”
WMATA is looking to get community feedback on the ideas and plan to host a meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 17) at the Courtyard by Marriott Tysons-McLean (1960A Chain Bridge Road) from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Let Tysons Reporter know what you think of the new concepts and which one(s) would affect you. Feel free to share ideas in the comments below.
Metro riders could see some new routes for the Silver, Orange and Blue lines in the future.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority released today (Thursday) several preliminary concepts for the three lines that include alternative routes. The concepts are a part of a two-year study to address both short- and long-term needs, according to WMATA.
More from WMATA:
Today customers on Metro’s Blue, Orange, and Silver lines experience delays, crowding, and congestion due to limitations in the system’s design. The three lines share one set of tracks from the Rosslyn tunnel, through downtown DC, to Stadium- Armory. This bottleneck limits the number of trains that can serve customers during rush hour. In addition, running three lines on one track requires precision, and even a minor problem with a single train can impact the entire rush hour for all three lines.
The BOS Study has identified several draft concepts to improve service and position Metro to serve the future needs of our region. Input from the public and stakeholders will help Metro evaluate the concepts and recommend a comprehensive strategy with a “locally-preferred alternative” to move forward with federal environmental review, design and funding in late 2020.
For people in Tysons, one option would let trains turn back at different areas along the Orange, Blue or Silver Lines, like the West Falls Church or East Falls Church Metro stations.
Another concept would create new Silver Line connections north of I-66:
Concept: Provide new Silver Line service through a new tunnel under the Potomac River into DC and Maryland, north of I-66.
A new tunnel under the Potomac River would provide a new Silver Line “corridor” north of I-66 that could operate as local service, express service or a mix, with different service options:
Option A: Operate new Silver Line service between West Falls Church, Mid-City DC, Union Station, Northeast DC and Prince George’s County.
Option B: Similar to Option A, but Silver Line service would operate from McLean instead of West Falls Church.
Option C: Operate new Silver Line service between Tysons, Bethesda or Friendship Heights, northern DC and Prince George’s County.
Yet another concept would create new Silver Line connections south of I-66:
Concept: Provide new Silver Line service through a new tunnel under the Potomac River into DC and Maryland, south of I-66.
A new tunnel under the Potomac River would provide a new Silver Line “corridor” south of I-66 that could operate as local service, express service or a mix, with different service options:
Option A: Operate new Silver Line service from West Falls Church along Route 7 and Columbia Pike, then across the Yellow Line Bridge to Southeast DC and Prince George’s County.
Option B: Similar to Option A, but the Silver Line would turn southward to Crystal City and National Airport rather than heading to DC.
WMATA plans to solicit feedback from the public about the ideas at several meetings this month. The Tysons-area meeting is set to take place on Tuesday (Dec. 17) at the Courtyard by Marriott Tysons-McLean (1960A Chain Bridge Road) from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
The online survey will be open until Jan. 6.
People can find more information about the preliminary concepts online.
Metro releases preliminary concepts for public feedback to improve service on Blue, Orange, Silver lines https://t.co/bFqZLN1iwX #wmata pic.twitter.com/mm3vvVdaPH
— Metro Forward (@wmata) December 5, 2019
Two images via WMATA
